Coraline
Coraline is a 2009 American stop-motion animated dark fantasy horror film directed and written for the screen by Henry Selick based on 2002 novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman. Produced by Laika as its first feature film, Coraline stars the voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr., and Ian McShane. The film depicts an adventurous girl named Coraline finding an idealized parallel world behind a secret door in her new home, unaware that the alternative world contains a dark and sinister secret. The film was released in United States theaters on February 6, 2009 by Focus Features after a world premiere at the Portland International Film Festival, and received critical acclaim. The film made $16.85 million during opening weekend, ranking third at the box office, and by the end of its run had grossed over $124 million worldwide. Coraline won Annie Awards for Best Music in an Animated Feature Production, Best Character Design in an Animated Feature Production and Best Production Design in an Animated Feature Production, and received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Plot Coraline Jones and her parents, who are gardening catalog editors, move from Pontiac, Michigan, to Ashland, Oregon, at the Pink Palace Apartments. As they struggle to finish their catalog, both parents pay little attention to Coraline, leaving her frustrated and bored. Her eccentric new neighbors include Mr. Bobinsky a circus mouse trainer, and Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, two once-famous actresses. She also meets Wyborne "Wybie" Lovat, the talkative grandson of the landlady. As a present, Wybie gives Coraline a button-eyed ragdoll that eerily resembles her. A black cat, meanwhile, mysteriously follows the pair. Later, the ragdoll lures her to a small door in the living room, which is bricked up and can only be unlocked by a button key. That night, a mouse guides Coraline through the door, where the bricks have been replaced by a corridor to another reality (dubbed the “Other World”). Upon entering, Coraline meets the Other Mother and Other Father, button-eyed doppelgängers of her real parents, who nonetheless appear to be more caring and entertaining. After dinner, she goes to sleep in her Other Bedroom, but disappointedly awakes in her real one. Her neighbors cryptically warn her about the Other World, with Wybie even recounting how his grandmother's twin sister allegedly disappeared on the premises of the apartment. Despite this, Coraline visits the Other World twice more, where she meets the Other Mr. Bobinsky, the Other Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and the Other Wybie, who is mute. Despite having no Other World counterpart, the same black cat that mysteriously followed Coraline is able to speak in the Other World. The Other Mother invites Coraline to stay forever, under the condition that a pair of buttons will be sewn over her eyes. Disturbed, Coraline attempts to flee, but the Other Mother has blocked all the exits to the real world. The cat reappears and reveals to her that the Other Mother controls the Other World and that she intends to "eat" Coraline. Coraline later demands the Other Mother to let her return home but the Other Mother transforms into a taller, thinner and more grotesque version of herself and imprisons Coraline in a chamber behind a supernatural mirror. There, Coraline meets the ghosts of the Other Mother's previous victims, including the missing twin sister of Wybie's grandmother. They reveal that the Other Mother, whom they refer to as the “Beldam”, created button-eyed ragdolls just like Coraline's and sent them to spy on ghost childrens' lives. With this information, the Beldam manipulated the Other World to meet each victims' desires and convinced them to sew buttons over their eyes, in exchange for a better life. The Beldam then consumed their lives, leaving their souls trapped in the chamber. To free their souls, their real eyes need to be found. Coraline promises to help. Coraline is eventually released from the chamber by the Other Wybie, whose mouth has been stitched open into a grimace by the Beldam (in retaliation for his earlier refusal to smile for Coraline). He helps her escape back to the real world, but upon returning, Coraline discovers that her parents are missing. She eventually deduces that they have been kidnapped by the Beldam. Miss Spink and Miss Forcible later help Coraline by giving her an Adder stone before she returns to the Other World. The cat advises Coraline to challenge the Beldam to a game before he vanishes. Coraline sees her real mother in the Other World but it is none other than the Beldam, who locks the door and swallows the key. Coraline takes the cat’s advice and proposes a game to the Beldam: if Coraline cannot find her parents and the ghosts' eyes, she will let buttons be sewn over her eyes, but if she can, they will all be set free. The Beldam reluctantly agrees. Using the stone, Coraline finds the ghosts' eyes, contained within marbles, from the Other World's now deranged inhabitants. She also discovers that the Other Wybie was murdered by the Beldam (for helping Coraline escaping from her). As she finds the eyes, the Other Pink Palace Apartments' surroundings gradually disintegrate until only the living room is left. Inside, Coraline sees the Beldam in her true skeletal, arachnoid form, with a pair of metallic, needle-like hands. Knowing that the Beldam will never accept her victory, Coraline tricks her into unlocking the door. While the Beldam is distracted, Coraline finds her parents trapped in a snow globe, grabs it, and throws the cat at the Beldam's face, ripping her button eyes out. The Beldam furiously converts the floor into a spiderweb, initiating a chase, but Coraline and the cat manage to climb out of it, slam and lock the door shut on the Beldam's hand, severing it. Coraline’s parents reappear in the real world, with no memory of what happened. That night, the ghosts warn her that the Beldam will never stop looking for the button key. As Coraline prepares to drop the key down the well to prevent the Beldam from accessing the real world, the severed hand attacks her and tries to drag her back to the Other World. Wybie appears and smashes it with a rock, then together they throw the remains of the hand and the key into the well and seal it shut to prevent anyone else from entering the Other World. The next day, Coraline and her parents, who have finally finished their gardening catalog, host a garden party for the neighbors. Coraline also prepares to tell Mrs. Lovat the truth about her twin sister whilst the cat disappears behind the pink palace welcome sign. Cast *Dakota Fanning as Coraline Jones, a curious 11-year-old girl with blue hair *Teri Hatcher as Mel Jones, Coraline's mother, and the Beldam / Other Mother, the ruler of the Other World *Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French as April Spink and Miriam Forcible respectively, a pair of retired burlesque actresses *Keith David as The Cat, a sarcastic, mysterious, nameless black cat from Coraline's world who appears and disappears at will and has the ability to speak in the Other World *John Hodgman as Charlie Jones, Coraline's father and the Other Father *John Linnell as Other Father's singing voice *Robert Bailey Jr. as Wyborne "Wybie" Lovat, the geeky, nervous 11-year-old grandson of Coraline's landlady Mrs. Lovat (Wybie is a character introduced for the film adaptation so that the viewer "wouldn't have a girl walking around, occasionally talking to herself".) *Ian McShane as Sergei Alexander Bobinsky, a former Chernobyl liquidator and one of Coraline's neighbors, who owns a jumping mice circus, and whose nickname is "Mr B." *Carolyn Crawford as Mrs. Lovat, Wybie's grandmother and the owner of the Pink Palace Apartments *Aankha Neal as Sweet Ghost Girl, Mrs. Lovat's missing twin sister, Wybie's great-aunt and the most recent victim of Beldam. *George Selick as Ghost Boy, the second and only male victim of Beldam. *Hannah Kaiser as Tall Ghost Girl, the first victim of Beldam interpreted by her Midwestern clothing. *Marina Budovsky as Photo Friend #1, a friend of Coraline's back home in Michigan. *Harry Selick as Photo Friend #2, a friend of Coraline's back home in Michigan. Category:2009 releases Category:Movies Category:Horror movies Category:Theatrical releases Category:Laika Category:Award-nominated specials Category:Films and specials based on books